CAYMAN ISLANDS (March 19)—The Choice Hotels International Caribbean portfolio continues to gain guest appeal. Comfort Suites Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman has recorded its best year since it began operations 14 years ago.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Feb. 12)—Respected hotel association executive Frank Comito is the new head of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, replacing Jeff Vasser, who left office at the end of December.

Four children from Haiti have received free lifesaving surgery at Health City Cayman Islands, bringing the number of young Haitians who have benefited from Health City’s ongoing commitment to support the tertiary health care needs of Caribbean youth to eight.

A pioneering media visionary who gave Black journalists a voice of their own was recognized for his vision and outstanding leadership at the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage-sponsored Evenings of Excellence and Caribbean Media Exchange leadership awards ceremony in Brooklyn last week.

More than five years ago, I penned a story about the work of Jamaican journalist Janet Silvera, who has kept tourism, the region’s bread winner, in the news and business pages of the Jamaica Gleaner and, in so doing, helped connect the Jamaican people to an industry that some across the region view as patronizing and subservient.

Choice Hotels International executive Bill Clegg has been named among the new slate of officers elected to the executive board of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association, underscoring the global hotel franchisor’s expanding presence and commitment to developing travel in the rebounding Caribbean market.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (Aug. 14)—Caribbean and global tourism leaders gather in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, next month to discuss and devise strategies to position Caribbean tourism for major change.

A new medical facility in the Caribbean is offering affordable, world-class services to its neighbors as an alternative to the rising health care costs typically found throughout the region and North America.

Choice Hotels International, one of the world’s largest hotel companies, has assigned Atlanta-based hospitality executive Dennis Wynn to oversee the lodging company’s franchise sales efforts in the Caribbean.

Caribbean Connection

Chef Nina Compton, first runner-up and fan favorite in the “Top Chef New Orleans” series, plans to put the Eastern Caribbean island of St. Lucia on the culinary map.
Recently appointed as the first culinary ambassador of St. Lucia, the Caribbean chef hopes to lure legions of foodies and visitors to the island with promises of indigenous ingredients and forward-thinking food producers.

Caribbean Connection

Joy Ann Jibrilu is the new Director General of Tourism of the Bahamas, replacing 30 year-tourism veteran David Johnson, who will become the new chief executive officer of the Hotel Corporation of the Bahamas and lead that organization’s transition to the Tourism Development Corporation.

Caribbean Connection

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua (April 24)–The newly appointed CEO of LIAT, “the Caribbean Airline,” arrived from the United Kingdom on Sunday with a promise to listen to staff to determine how to improve the regional carrier.

ST. THOMAS (Feb. 13)–The Caribbean has recorded a rise in visitor expenditure in 2013, with the spending rate outpacing that of visitor arrivals for the first time in three years.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), an authority on Caribbean

I knew I would be doing a lot of traveling during the holidays to connect with friends and loved ones across the globe, but it was only toward the end of trip that I realized I would circle the entire planet.

With the new year upon us, a leading Caribbean economist has called on the region’s citizens to take charge of their personal financial destiny and waste no time with playing the “blame game,” which he says is unhelpful.